


An All Too Familiar Path

by weakinteraction



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games)
Genre: During Canon, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weakinteraction/pseuds/weakinteraction
Summary: Juhani was rescued from the Dark Side.  Can she return the favour?
Relationships: Juhani/Female Revan (Star Wars)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21
Collections: Minigame: Round 1





	An All Too Familiar Path

**Author's Note:**

  * For [revanchxst (BadWolfGirl01)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolfGirl01/gifts).



> The story begins pre-Leviathan so Revan's true identity is not yet known to anyone in the story; I booted up a new game to get "Shara Regana" as a randomly generated name.

_Korriban, Sith Academy_

Shara watched Juhani pacing up and down in the small, cell-like bedroom.

Having to pretend to be a slave chafed at the very core of her being, Shara knew; it was not some mere piece of play acting as it had been for Carth. And Carth had got everything he had come here for, and more -- reconciliation with the son he thought he had lost forever, who had now bravely volunteered himself as a spy for the Republic. She had sent him back to the ship, asking him to send HK-47 in his stead. Moreover, he was human; Juhani had had to endure abominable treatment from the Sith hopefuls, simply because she was Cathar.

"HK-47, deactivate your external sensory inputs for ... let's say half an hour," Shara said, after coming to the realisation that there was no chance of getting to sleep while Juhani was this tense. Despite all the training the Jedi had given her on Dantooine, Shara had come to recognise that Juhani's emotional states deeply affected her own.

"Advisory: this unit will be unable to fulfil the directive of protecting you from threats during that time."

"I know that, HK," Shara said.

"Statement: this facility is simply crawling with individuals who would do you harm, even absent their having knowledge of your true purposes in being here. I would hate to fail at my directives by missing the opportunity to slaughter them all mercilessly. In your defence, of course."

"I'm not going to ask you again, HK," Shara said. "Deactivate yourself for thirty minutes."

"Acknowledgement," HK said, in a tone of heavy sarcasm that no other droid would ever even attempt. "Amplification of acknowledgement: I will give the two of you some of the 'privacy' that has always worked out so well for my previous masters." Having got in his parting shot, HK's photoreceptors went dark and his head drooped forward slightly.

"Why did you do that?" Juhani asked.

"Because we need to talk," Shara said.

"Yes," Juhani said. "But not here, not now. Yuthura is in the very next room--"

"Asleep," Shara said. "And going to remain so. I may not have administered Uthar's poison, but I did ensure that she would not be able to cause any last-minute complications."

"It is precisely that sort of ... trickery which worries me," Juhani said. "I fear that you have strayed from the path of the light. Is that not why the Council sent me with you, to remind you of what could befall you? I am here to save you from the fate that you saved me from."

"Old habits die hard, I guess," Shara said. "I was running hustles on Deralia long before I ever had the faintest idea I might have Force powers."

Juhani did not seem satisfied. "But all the things you have had to do to reach this point--"

"It was the only way to get to the Map, Juhani. And we've done it now; they're taking me there tomorrow." She clutched Juhani's hands in her own. "Please, trust me."

At the physical contact, something suddenly shifted in Juhani's demeanour. Her expression softened, and Shara could feel the sudden heat of her palms against her own. "You are really quite unlike any other Jedi I have ever met," she said, flustered. "I find that I have no choice but to trust you."

The expression in her eyes was unreadable, but the tone of her voice made it clear that she wasn't talking about the situation they found themselves in, but something on a much deeper, emotional level. "Juhani, I--"

And then it was Shara's turn to be surprised by a sudden physical contact, as Juhani interlaced her fingers with her own, and leaned forwards to kiss her. Shara found herself returning the kiss instinctively, even as her mind struggled to keep up with what was happening. The idea that Juhani might feel the same way as she did had occurred to her, of course; there were a hundred little signs in their interactions that she did. But somehow Shara had never imagined Juhani being the one to make the first move.

"I am sorry, Padawan," Juhani said when they finally broke apart, her use of the title rather than Shara's name awkward but a clear attempt to re-establish the boundaries she had just broken through. "That was wrong of me. A moment of weakness. Forgive me. Attachments are forbidden--"

"I don't think there can be anything wrong about love."

"Please, do not say that word."

"Then, Juhani--"

"We should not talk about this now," Juhani said. "You have much to prepare for tomorrow. You should try to get some sleep. I will remain on guard until the droid reactivates."

* * *

_The Tomb of Naga Sadow_

Shara backed against the wall, watching the terantateks stomping around in the next room. They were stronger still than the one that they had encountered in the shyrack caves, and the Wookiees' "Great Beast" on Kashyyyk. But both of those creatures had had a ready supply of food -- so how had _two_ of them survived, here in this tomb for years, without starving to death? Clearly they were entities of the Dark Side.

As she waited to recover her strength, she had plenty of time to muse on what she had found in the remains of one of their previous victims. The end of Shaela's journal made the circumstances of her descent quite clear. Perhaps there was wisdom in the Jedi's ban on attachments after all. If she and Juhani gave into their feelings for each other, would they share the same fate as Shaela and Duran? It didn't bear thinking about. But she knew that she could not take the risk -- Juhani was right, what happened last night should not have happened.

But on those same remains, Shara had also found a lightsaber crystal, one that she instinctively knew channelled the Light Side of the Force. Had its power deserted Shaela at the moment she needed it most, as she faced these creatures? If only there was a workbench here, Shara might be able to enhance her own lightsaber with it. But she had the horrible feeling that it might not work for her if she did. Perhaps Juhani was right, and she had fallen too far from the Light Side. Jolee seemed able to walk the middle path, but Shara had no confidence that she could. She knew that if she strayed too far, the power of the Dark Side would consume her, as it had Revan and Malak.

Once she had got out of here, she had to tell Juhani the truth.

* * *

_The Ebon Hawk, after leaving Korriban_

The Sith fighters came relentlessly, and it took all Carth's flying skill as well as Shara's sharpshooting in the turret to deal with them, just as in the Academy, it had taken Juhani and HK working with her to fight their way back to the entrance, once the leadership of the Academy had disappeared. Shara hoped that Yuthura would make it to the Jedi; it was the example of Juhani herself that had given her the inspiration to even try to persuade her back to the Light Side.

Finally, though, the last of the fighters was incinerated, and they made the jump into hyperspace.

Time, finally, to take stock of everything that had happened.

She played a few rounds of pazaak with Mission at first, but it was only delaying the inevitable. She had to talk to Juhani.

"Thank you," Shara said to her. "For everything you did." Watching Juhani fight was always incredible, form and motion blurring into a perfect balance of martial skill, but she had outdone herself on this occasion. The way she had constantly leaped ahead, lightsaber ignited, straight into danger, unthinking, trusting in the Force to see her through, was inspirational. The truth was that Shara and HK had been running to catch up the whole time.

"I was only doing my duty," Juhani said. "And that is what I will continue to do."

Shara was relieved that she wasn't going to have to rehash what she'd found in Shaela's journal. But she did want to share something else. "I have a gift for you," Shara went on, removing the crystal she had found on Shaela's body from where she had stashed it inside her robe. "I found this in the tomb. I want you to have it."

Juhani took it, turned it over in her hands, looking at in awe. "You should use this yourself," she said firmly. "It is one of the most powerful crystals I have ever encountered," she said, by way of explanation, but there was another layer of meaning: that accepting a gift might mean acknowledging the bond that had formed between them.

Shara looked away. "I _can't_ , Juhani."

"Then I was right, you have begun to stray."

"You're right, Juhani, there is something we need to talk about," Shara said. "But it has nothing to do with everything that happened on Korriban. Have you ever heard of the Genoharadan?"

* * *

_Later: Tatooine, the Dune Sea_

"You are here, Shara Regana," Hulas said. "But I see you did not come alone."

"We stand with her," Juhani replied. "You have failed in your attempt to corrupt her."

"I would not be so sure about that," Hulas said. "But no matter. Brothers of the Genoharadan: attack!"

Without needing to discuss a battle plan, they sprang into action. Juhani threw her lightsaber straight ahead, and it scythed through Hulas and the two thugs flanking him; she caught it in mid-air as she leapt ahead to confront the treacherous Genoharadan Overseer. Shara, meanwhile, channelled the Force to enhance her speed and fought her way through the Genoharadan footsoldiers on her left, while HK lined up his sights on the two on the right, taking them down with a single precise shot each.

Soon enough, only Hulas remained standing, his expendable allies having bought him only a few extra moments. Juhani's lightsaber glittered, even bluer than the desert sky now that it had the Solari crystal inside it, as it swung back and forth. Almost any other assailant would have long since fallen under Juhani's assault, but Hulas was wearing a powerful shield and seemed to have a neverending supply of stimulants and medpacks to recover himself. HK, in one of his less well-judged moments, threw a grenade at the pair of them, and as Shara rushed to join the fight she had to draw on the Force once again, this time to heal Juhani from its effects.

Eventually, Shara stood face to face with Hulas, side by side with Juhani, and the tide of the battle turned. She couldn't say which of them delivered the killing blow.

"It's over," Juhani said. "A great evil has been removed from the galaxy. One that would not have been exposed if not for your actions."

"I'm not sure I feel any better," Shara said. "But perhaps now I can begin to atone."

Juhani took her hand -- the first time they had actually touched since that night on Korriban. "You saved me from the darkness," Juhani said. "Now it is my turn to save you. No one is beyond redemption."

Shara was about to say something she shouldn't when HK interrupted. "Statement: these Genoharadan carry some premium equipment. I will look forward to using some of these upgrades."

Juhani and Shara both laughed -- of course he was looting the bodies -- but their hands fell apart. Shara felt guilty at being so relieved.

* * *

_Later still: The Ebon Hawk, after escaping the Leviathan_

"I'll tell them," Shara said to Carth. "I'm ... I'm Darth Revan."

As she explained, Shara looked around to gauge the reactions of the others. Mission came round the fastest; Shara wished that she could believe herself that it was as simple as Mission made it out to be. Zaalbar seemed to go along with her take, though.

She went round the others: Canderous and T3 didn't care, Jolee already knew -- that made a lot of sense, actually -- and HK-47 ... well, Revan being his original master made a lot of sense too.

Finally, there was only Juhani whose opinion remained unknown. When Shara asked her, Juhani took out her lightsaber and placed it on the holo-projector. "Pick it up," she said urgently.

"Juhani, that's _your_ lightsaber."

"Pick. It. Up."

Shara did so, reluctantly -- somehow, doing so felt far more intimate even than that one kiss they'd shared on Korriban. But she knew why Juhani was asking. It would not work for her, if she were not attuned with the Light Side. All the good deeds she had done, from one side of the galaxy to another -- with Juhani by her side throughout -- had brought her back, but now Malak's revelations about her past had thrown everything into doubt.

Gingerly, she thumbed the lightsaber's ignition switch. The blade sprang to life instantly in front of her.

Carth looked distinctly unnerved -- he had no way to understand the significance of what was going on -- but Jolee whispered something to him that seemed to put him at ease.

And that was when Juhani told her: that the Jedi she'd seen on Taris, the one who'd inspired her to follow this path in the first place, had been Revan herself. Or rather, Revan -- herself.

* * *

_Much later: the Star Forge_

The computer room seemed to offer some respite from the constant onslaught, or at least a defensible position. HK stood in the doorway, picking off grenadiers and warriors who tried to make their way through.

They had fought their way through seemingly endless waves of droids, elite soldiers, and Dark Jedi, and there were doubtless more to come. They would have to fight their way through to Malak one way or the other, and they both knew that the path to him inevitably went through Bastila.

Shara Regana -- the false identity that she had made true by sheer force of will -- had known more than a few slicing tricks of her own, but during their travels Mission had shown Shara all manner of things she'd never before imagined were possible. And so now here she was, confidently bypassing the security on the mainframe of an ancient alien computer on board an unfathomably powerful battle station as easily as she might access the navigation controls on board the Hawk.

She studied the options -- the computer seemed to respond to the identity of its user, and was offering to construct robes customised to her. She selected the option, and something happened on the far side of the room. Then the console exploded -- perhaps her slicing abilities weren't quite as good as she had imagined, after all.

Shara crossed over to the crate where the computer had seemingly deposited its handiwork, and took the robes out. Quickly, she shucked off the ones she had been wearing and donned the new ones. The heavy hood fell down around her shoulders, but somehow seemed no impediment to her movement. And she could feel her connection to the Force strengthened immediately.

"You look ... radiant," Juhani said, her voice expressing both awe and the desire that they had both being suppressing.

Shara looked at the next console -- there seemed to be every reason to think that she could repeat the trick there. "I think ... I think I could make them for you as well."

"I should like that," Juhani said.

Slicing the console was even quicker this time, now that she knew what she was doing, though she still wasn't able to prevent it incinerating itself after it had finished creating Juhani's robes.

Juhani changed her garments just as quickly as Shara had. Seeing her in the robes, Shara's self-control left her for a moment and she pulled Juhani towards her for a kiss.

"Shara," Juhani said, "we mustn't--"

"No," Shara said. "We _must_. I still don't remember much about being Revan, but I do know that she didn't have anyone like you ... And if she had, I don't think she would have fallen. I know why the Jedi forbid attachments, but our attachment can only make us stronger."

Juhani kissed her again, and Shara returned it fully. She could feel a flood of relief between the two of them at not having to hide their feelings any more.

HK-47 used his vocabulator to make an entirely un-droid-like throat clearing noise. "Urgent Statement: Despite my best efforts, and believe me my best is very good indeed, this defensive position is in danger of being overwhelmed within the next two minutes. Request: if the two of you could save your ... interfacing for a more opportune moment, I would be extremely grateful."

"Together, then?" Shara said.

"Together," Juhani said. "Until the end."

Shara smiled. "I don't plan on that end being any time soon."

As one, they ignited their lightsabers and stepped out into the corridor.


End file.
